No Musicals Ever Took Place in the Woods
by peut-etre-poulet
Summary: Spoilers: Prom-asaurus - Ensemble; Brittany suggests the New Directions go camping together.


**Title::..**No Musicals Ever Took Place in the Woods

**Rating::..**PG for mild adult themes

**Spoilers::..**_Prom-asaurus_

**Genre::..**Fluff

**Characters::..**Quinn Fabray and Joe Hart, with supporting roles by all of the Glee club

**Pairing::..**Quoe, with mentions to Brittana, Finchel, Samcedes and Tike

**Author's Note::..**When you dedicate the majority of your month to writing about a group of people held prisoner by aliens, hating on each other and awaiting death, when you take time off from that you wanna write about something totally opposite and so I went off in search of some innocent teen love. The comment Joe makes about considering cutting his dreadlocks is in response to Samuel Larsen recently cutting his dreads off and killing me inside a little. But it actually doesn't look that bad, actually makes him look older and doesn't detract from his sexiness. The title was inspired by the coverage of the Tony awards that was on television the day I started writing this. Although this fic does include some underage drinking it isn't something I support or encourage, it is only included for the sake of keeping things realistic.

**Summary::..**Brittany suggests the New Directions go camping together.

* * *

It had started off as one of Brittany's crazy comments, the random mutterings from the back of the choir room they mostly ignored. Then Finn had jumped on board and soon they were ditching their weekend study plans to drive off into the woods. A camping trip as one of their final opportunities to hang out as a group before they gave into the pull of the tide and were separated.

Quinn had never been camping before, she supposed her parents were too dignified to sleep outside; they had always stayed in nice hotels. She wasn't sure she would enjoy it, sleeping on uneven ground hardly seemed inviting. Fortunately she had Santana to help ease her into the foreign experience, her friend helping her select the correct sleeping bag. Santana claimed to have 'practically grown-up in the bush' and so knew all about the importance of layering, imparting this knowledge to Quinn. She stressed the need for bug spray and Quinn wasn't daring enough to discover if the Latina was exaggerating, a habit of hers.

In the end Quinn's suitcase was far heavier than she had originally anticipated. Thanks to all of their training as Cheerio's this posed no challenge for the girls, they hauled the bag into the back of Santana's car and set off for the camping ground.

It wasn't as deserted as Quinn had feared, thankfully there would be no peeing in the woods, a handicapable cabin was required for Artie. They had enough space to spread out and pitch tents, but they were hardly isolated from the rest of Lima. Their phone reception was crystal clear; there was even Wi-Fi they could tap into. A bear attack seemed highly unlikely with the highway a five-minute walk away. It was the illusion of a night in the wilderness.

But it was good enough for the New Directions. It had been a rocky year for the show choir, perhaps their most difficult to date. Members had split off, a teen wedding had almost taken place, they had almost lost a member in a car accident and at the end of the year half of them would leave. This time to bond and reconnect could be essential for their win at Nationals.

Artie had switched to a kind of all-terrain wheelchair that allowed him to sit by the campfire Puck was building. The girls were happy to give in to gender stereotypes and leave the tent assembling to their boyfriends. Brittany had disappeared up a tree and was making bird calls. Kurt was terribly displeased with the food his friends had brought along, complaining of the carbs.

Quinn would be sharing a tent with Mercedes. A very helpful Sam was happy to erect the canvas for them so long as Mercedes continued to bat her lashes his way. There was enough room for both girls to fit in comfortably. They giggled as they laid their sleeping bags out.

Quinn emerged to find Sam had gotten to work pitching another tent, directly beside hers. She smiled knowingly as she observed the very small gap between the tent containing Mercedes and the new one. "Wow Sam, do you wanna come a little closer? It might be more subtle if you told Mercedes that you'd forgotten your sleeping bag and needed to share hers."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He claimed, hammering the stake into the earth.

"Of course you don't." She commented sarcastically.

A fluttering of material caught her attention and soon Joe had appeared. Her heart started to beat very fast and her legs felt weak. She returned his smile.

"It's so great to see you, I wasn't sure if you'd make it." She managed to say despite her clenched throat.

"No I wouldn't miss it, I love camping, ever since I started going to Bible Camp when I was eight." He responded.

"Somehow I think this is going to be different to Bible Camp." She commented.

As if to prove this point Sam whistled to get Mercedes' attention. "Check it out Mercedes, we're neighbours."

She couldn't resist a smile. "I never would have guessed."

Puck managed to get the fire going before the sun set and they all gathered around it, shrugging into winter coats. Quinn took up the seat next to Joe's. She looked around at her friends and was pleased to find all of them smiling. The couples were in each other's arms as the group laughed carelessly. The bad times seemed so far away, it was hardly important who had said what behind another's back now, the only thing that mattered was that they were all together.

Unsurprisingly Puck had bought a few six-packs with him (the fake ID he had been using since junior year still passed the test) and cans of beer were handed out to the group. It wasn't going to be like Rachel's infamous house party. This time they drank to get a buzz, it was to help them feel like adults. Weepy Santana wouldn't be making any appearances tonight. Even though they were enjoying it in moderation Quinn still thought it was best to refuse the can offered her way. Joe did the same, helping her to feel like less of a square.

Rachel's beer wasn't helping her relax. "Now that we're out here is this all we do, sit around a fire and drink?" It appeared Quinn wasn't the only one just learning the concept of camping. "I'm sorry but I don't understand the appeal, it's not like any musicals were ever set in the woods. Speaking of musicals, I'm missing the telecast of the Tony Awards for this. Not to mention all the time of Nationals prep that we're wasting."

"You know what would help you get into the spirit of camping Rachel? A good old fashioned game of Hide and Seek." Santana offered. "Why don't you go hide and the rest of us will try to find you, eventually."

Sam had brought his guitar along and allowed them to request their favourite songs. They all joined in, getting up to dance around the fire as they sang. Mr Schuester would have been horrified at their lack of harmonising, but it wasn't about sounding fantastic, that wasn't the goal of the impromptu jam session. They were just having fun, singing for the sake of it. There was no battling for solos, instead they all sang at the top of their voices. Nobody pointed out how tone-deaf Sugar was, they let her have her moment of feeling like the star of the group, she didn't get many.

Quinn was letting loose with a shimmying Kurt. She thought if her junior-year-self saw this she would be disgusted, the little bitch might order a Slushie Facial for the older girl. Back then she had been so obsessed with image. She had been consumed by being what others expected of her, never really grasping the concept of being her own woman. She had been frightened all of the time, cruelly pointing out the imperfections of others to keep anyone from noticing her flaws. That young Cheerio had never understood the true power of Glee club and so would throw eggs if she ever came across this acoustic dance party, she would undoubtedly dub it a 'nerd-fest'.

Quinn hardly recognised that girl anymore. She lamented all of the time she had wasted being angry and spiteful, when this pot of gold had been sitting under her nose the whole time. Luckily she had found Glee before it was too late and she knew these were the good old days she would reflect upon for the rest of her life. She was never going to be younger than she was right now and she couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this.

Quinn grabbed Joe's hands and they twirled around. She was laughing so hard she thought her lungs might burst, still Sam went on playing and Artie had started rapping.

* * *

After a while they grew tired of the toasted marshmallows. A poker game was launched inside the cabin.

The table was very full to begin with. Brittany quickly got distracted, certain the Jack of Hearts was giving her the 'evil eye'. Finn didn't have any skills in bluffing and soon quit altogether. Mike decided to leave, claiming the game was getting too mean. The majority of the players drifted away, some settling in front of the television and stifling yawns.

The game became very serious between Santana, Puck, Mercedes, Artie, Blaine and Quinn. Quinn was very proud of how well she was doing; her dad had been an avid poker player. She was holding her own, despite all of the murderous muttering in Spanish Santana was doing. The game was no longer for fun; the time for laughter was over. Despite that they were playing for junk food, they were taking it very seriously. They were playing for bragging rights as well as chocolate-covered snacks.

Quinn thought she had Blaine cornered, nothing could beat her three of a kind. So she decided to bring out the big guns. "I raise, a Toblerone."

"Shit just got real y'all." Mercedes proclaimed and she wasn't the only one to lean back, clearly impressed.

"Lay 'em down Warbler." Puck instructed.

Quinn was already sure she had won, Blaine had looked nervous throughout this entire hand. She beamed as the table fell silent, ready to see her spectacular winning hand. Blaine stared across at her, giving nothing away as he drew in a deep breath. She was too excited to pause and draw the anticipation out, putting her cards out on the table. Then Blaine did the same and her heart sank – a royal flush. She was gutted, but did her best to be a gracious loser.

"I can't remember the last time I had a Toblerone." Blaine marvelled, beginning to pull back the wrapper. "I think I might just eat it right now."

"Now that all the food's gone I believe there's only one thing for us to do, strip poker." Puck announced.

Quinn thought it was a testament to his personal growth that he had waited this long to suggest strip poker. But still she quickly excluded herself from the game line-up. Artie began reaching for the brakes on his chair.

Quinn left the cabin behind, braving the onslaught of insects in pursuit of fresh air. She discovered the campfire had become an aphrodisiac, with her friends choosing to make-out in its glow. Rachel and Finn had become entangled. Mike and Tina's lips only separated for them to swear _'always'_ continually to one another.

Sitting awkwardly on his own was Joe. He didn't seem terribly bothered by the activity around him; he appeared to be in a pensive state. There was a notebook opened on his lap and he scribbled onto the pages, hardly noticing what was going on around him. Quinn went over to join him, taking up the seat next to his so he didn't have to be the odd one out anymore.

"Hey, what are you writing about?" She enquired.

He looked up and instantly smiled in response to the sight of her. He protectively pulled the journal closer to him. "Just reflections, sometimes I turn them into songs."

"Maybe you could let me hear one of your songs someday." She said, trying to contain her excitement over how the creative side only added to his attractiveness.

"Yeah, that'd be awesome." He replied, flashing another of his heart-meltingly authentic smiles.

They were interrupted by a ruckus from across the fire. Finn had tipped over one of the seats. His cheeks were flaming as he struggled to right it. Rachel was fanning herself as she smiled much wider than she usually did when offstage.

"We're going to go to our tent." She offered as an explanation, already unbuttoning her jacket.

Quinn cleared her throat and pointedly turned her face away from the offensive tent. Meanwhile Mike and Tina refused to get a room. Joe seemed oblivious to the sexual tension while Quinn was finding it difficult to think of anything else. She wasn't angry that Rachel had Finn, not anymore. Instead she was insanely jealous of the intimacy they got to indulge in.

She needed to clear her mind. "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure." He was out of his seat almost straight away.

They collected torches and set off into the woods. After walking for a minute it became hard to believe they had come here with a large group of friends, it was far too quiet. It was peaceful, helping her to relax a little.

Camping didn't seem such a weird way to spend a night anymore, it all made sense to her now as she became absorbed in the tranquillity. "It's really pretty out here." She admired, looking up at the moonlight pushing through the intertwined tree branches.

"Yeah, it's quite breathtaking." He agreed, also turning his face skyward.

Quinn's torch beam continued to mark her path out, but she wasn't interested. She was too busy picking out the stars to notice the unearthed roots in her way. "I wish I knew some of the constella- _whoa…" _Her foot got caught beneath one of the roots, but before she could realise this she felt herself flying forward.

Joe sprang into action and jumped in front of her, grabbing her before she could hit the ground. She supposed he had gotten good at catching her during all of those physical therapy sessions he had accompanied her to. It had been a couple of months since then and in that time she had somehow forgotten how good it felt to be in his arms. She didn't attempt to reclaim her balance at once, just enjoying the moment. She was glad for the dim lighting to hide her blush.

"Getting stuck with your head in the clouds is health warning that should come with joining the Glee club." She joked and he eased her back onto her feet.

They went on walking, leaving the others even further behind. She liked how it came to feel like they were the only people in the world. She didn't miss the others as they talked about whatever took their fancy.

When with Joe she almost felt like a different person and she liked this new person. He made her feel like all of the bad things in her past had been erased and she was starting over. It was like having a crush for the very first time – she didn't have any earlier knowledge to determine her actions and she wasn't jaded by bad past experiences. She was optimistic, with no fear of the fall.

She was yet to figure out his feelings regarding the situation and so was doing her best to keep a muzzle on this enthusiasm. She succeeded in this for most of their walk. They talked about their usual things, their common interests keeping the conversation flowing and they conducted themselves as a typical pair of friends.

Then the dying embers of the campfire came into view and she feared separating. All of the things she had been trying not to say flooded her mind. She remembered how little time at school (and with him) she had left and she panicked even more.

"I'm really gonna miss seeing you and those dreadlocks every day." She started off slowly.

"Really? Because I've been thinking about cutting them off lately." He said.

"No." She reacted immediately and he turned to her, brow furrowed in confusion. "The dreads are your trademark, your signature look."

"So you don't think I need a change? I've had this trademark for a really long time now." He reasoned.

She placed her hand on his upper arm to ensure he took her seriously, partially to give her an excuse to touch him. "It's a good trademark, it's an awesome trademark. You don't need to change it, trust me." She knew he was too shy to hear that the dreadlocks made him sexier and so bit back even more words.

The camp was mostly quiet by the time they got back. It seemed everyone had settled down for the night. Mike and Tina had finally retired to their tent. The party was winding down.

They reached their neighbouring tents and the awkward farewells began. They turned to face one another, absorbed by the uncomfortable silence. He had stuffed his hands into his pockets and she was exchanging her weight from one foot to the other. Her tongue was practically burning with all of the things she wanted to say, but she didn't know how.

"I guess I'll see you in the morning." He said.

"Yeah." She replied. "It seems like this is where we say goodnight."

"Yeah." He echoed. He maintained eye-contact and it seemed to her that she wasn't the only one holding back things.

She thought the night had been going really well up until now. She told herself she shouldn't kiss him, she didn't want to push their friendship into a place he wasn't ready for. But she didn't want to look back on this trip holding any regrets. This camping trip had been all about making the most of the little time they had left together and right now she wasn't doing that.

It was really quite romantic out here: firelight was romantic, it was something that had been proven in countless movies and the glow of the full moon only added to the mood. It seemed a shame to waste this spectacular setup.

She decided to make a move, beginning with her hand on the collar of his shirt. He followed this motion and by the time he looked back up she was standing directly in front of him. She shut her eyes and leant in, his hot lips met hers in one glorious moment. Her heart was pounding as his arms encircled her waist, bringing her body closer. She draped her arm around his neck, going onto her tiptoes to reach his height. She thought she might float away if not for him holding her so securely. Everything between them had led to this and she thought it had definitely been worth the wait.

Their lips parted but he didn't let her go, they lingered in each other's embrace. She opened her eyes to find he was looking at her as if seeing her for the first time. He smiled but didn't say anything because there were no words worthy of following such a perfect exchange.

She leant back, grinning. "Well…goodnight." If Quinn was an expert at anything, it was how to keep a boy wanting more. She left for her tent, checking back over her shoulder to find he was still watching her.

"Goodnight." He responded, beaming widely.

She stepped into the tent, still smiling to herself. Mercedes was already in her sleeping bag, reading by the light of her lantern. Now Quinn realised how cold it was out here, quickly unzipping her own sleeping bag. Mercedes seemed to notice there was something different about her friend immediately, lowering her copy of Cosmopolitan to survey Quinn.

"I haven't seen you in ages. Where have you been?" She asked.

Quinn tried to act innocent, shrugging her shoulders. "Nowhere, Joe and I just took a walk."

"That explains it then." Mercedes decided. "I should've known…"

"What are you talking about?" Quinn asked.

"You're all smiley and you're blushing and you look like you're about to take off skipping around the whole camping ground. That's usually how you look after you've been talking to Teen Jesus." Mercedes explained.

Quinn hadn't realised she was so obvious. Embarrassed, she began to dig through her suitcase, not looking for anything in particular, just seeking a distraction. She wondered why Mercedes had never brought this up before. She hoped she wasn't so see-through around the rest of the club, especially Joe.

"What's going on between you two?" Mercedes asked. "I know you said you don't know if you want a relationship or not, but you can't deny the chemistry you guys got going on."

"We kissed." Quinn wanted to share this excitement with one of her closest friends.

Mercedes sprang up, pumping her fist into the air. "Finally! Give me every tiny detail."

Quinn drew in a deep breath, preparing herself for the spilling session. They became like any typical friends at a slumber party – gushing over boys and giggling. They kept sleep at bay, chattering away at a frantic pace.

* * *

The next afternoon when everyone was packing up Quinn found her suitcase was as heavy as ever. Help would be required, but Santana was off somewhere, kissing Brittany. Quinn struggled with the bag; the fact that she was still half-asleep did nothing to help her cause. She dragged it along the ground, getting thrown off course every two seconds by a rouge stick lodging itself in the wheels. She thought she would be here until nightfall. Santana's car had come into view, but it was still a long road to the parking lot.

Her struggle was brought to an end when the suitcase left the ground. She looked around to find Joe had appeared to help her. His arms flexed impressively as he placed the bag on his shoulder. She smiled at him for a few moments (probably looking like a brainless idiot as she did so), not saying anything, just admiring the fantastic sight.

"Hey." She greeted breathlessly, everything that was cool about her disappeared whenever Joe was around.

"Hey, which car am I taking it to?" He asked.

"Santana's." She pointed. "You don't have to do that."

"It's no problem. All of my stuff is already packed up so I kind of have nothing to do." He dismissed.

She was able to pick up the pace with Joe now carrying the bag. They walked side-by-side toward the parking lot and she was further impressed by how much of a gentleman he was, not complaining once about the weight. Although neither spoke of it, their chemistry was changed after the kiss. There was an excited and slightly nervous energy between them that hadn't existed before, as if they were anticipating the next kiss. She felt giddy and kept looking over at him to see his smile.

After a while she noticed him seeming to struggle with the bag. He kept repositioning it on his shoulder, redistributing the weight. He didn't complain, probably determined to finish the job he had promised her.

"Do you need any help?" She offered.

"It's fine, I got it." He assured her, even as his arm trembled. Then his arm wobbled violently before dropping and the bag tumbled to the ground. "Crap. Sorry. There wasn't anything breakable in there, right?"

"No, I'm sure my jackets are fine." She said. "Here, let me help you."

She extended the plastic handle and they wheeled the bag along the ground together. He boosted it into the empty trunk. She spotted Santana making her way toward them; their time together was quickly disappearing.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow." He said, forcing them to the end of their encounter.

"Right, see you in Glee club." She replied.

He inched closer and she felt her heart leap into her throat as she waited to see what would happen next. Butterflies swarmed her stomach as he came ever closer. He placed a very respectful kiss on her cheek. It seemed to be a hint of what was to come next. She squeezed his hand before he left.

The two girls sat mostly in silence as they drove away from the camping ground. It was a comfortable silence with Quinn smiling to herself as she gazed out the window. After getting to spend the weekend with Brittany, Santana was in a good mood, there weren't any venomous words coming from her mouth today.

"Final verdict, how was your first camping trip?" She asked. "Were the woods gentle on your virgin ass?"

"Yeah, it was awesome, I had a great time." Quinn replied. She only wished Brittany had thought it up sooner, it would have been a fun Glee tradition to indulge in more than once.

The End.


End file.
